I’m all about safe, efficient muscle building. I want more muscle as quickly as possible, but without joint pain…
Over the years I’ve learned a few things which have given my workouts more mass-building power and allowed me to shorten my time in the gym significantly…
But the past few years have produced giant leaps in efficiency and safety. That pisses me off because I’m now 62.
If only I knew then what I know now—about building muscle, that is. Women? I still don’t have a clue.
One of the big mistakes I made was squatting superheavy, at least for me, with a barbell—and trying to hit new PRs…
I thought the more weight I could squat, the bigger my quads would get. Nope, but my butt did get into Kim K. territory (damn, Vince Gironda was right again).
The more weight you try to squat, the further your torso leans forward, which throws the majority of the work onto your glutes.
In other words, your butt becomes the prime mover. That’s great for those using the exercise to go from lard ass to hard ass, but…
If you want quad development, keep your torso as vertical as possible—even if it means using lighter weights.
It’s why 20-rep-squat routines can work well. A weight that allows 20 perfect reps has you training two of the largest muscle in the body almost equally…
Still, having a barbell across your shoulders compresses your spine and could possibly result in a blown vertebrae or two.
For me, that’s not worth the risk. There are other safer quad exercises that are much closer to ideal. Take the sissy squat…
In this case, the resistance does not shift forward but to the rear as you squat. That’s because you keep your torso on the same plane as your thighs.
It’s all quads. And because the resistance—your torso—moves back, it becomes harder the further down you go, which is a near perfect resistance curve…
Still, you don’t need to get down into a full-on Limbo. Your knees are delicate, so when your hamstrings meet your calves, reverse the movement…
Another beautiful thing about sissy squats is that it takes very little extra weight to totally max out quad activation.
I use zero added weight with a three-seconds-down, one-second-up cadence. I crank out 20-25; rest 20 seconds, then blast out another 12; rest another 20 seconds, then shoot for 8-10…
Talk about quad pump, deep ache and searing burn—toward the end of a set I sound like Michael Jackson moonwalking on Legos.
I then follow with one or two sets of another quad exercise, a new one you may not have tried. I’ll cover that tomorrow.
New: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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